Home preservation is always troublesome and time-consuming, but the result is so pleasant that we spend half of our holidays in the kitchen with basins and cans every year. As soon as a garden appears in your life, consciousness turns over: first, a bed of parsley, a bit of dill and radishes gradually creep into an ideal (seemingly) plan of a plot planted with lawn grass, with barbecue, sun loungers and hammocks. And after a couple of years, greenhouses and greenhouses grow for your favorite cucumbers and tomatoes. And along with them the question arises, how can all this wealth be preserved now.
And now you order jars and lids, turn the entire Internet in search of magical recipes, call all the gardeners you know .. And six months later, proudly, but a little more fearful, treat your close friends with your first masterpiece! And from that moment on, the whole life changes! Your "proprietary" pressure canning recipe for lecho is now written on the phone for every friend, men ask for any gatherings to get a couple of jars of "that awesome snack" out of stock.
But sometimes the masterpiece doesn't work the first time. It takes experience, skill and some important and proven advice. These simple rules will allow you to preserve the taste and aroma of summer in berry preparations, piquancy in pickled vegetables, cucumbers will be crispy, brine will be transparent, and you can save money.
Rule 1. Everything is strictly according to the recipe. Proven ratios of ingredients are the key to tasty and healthy preservation. Technique "by eye" does not work here, and therefore we strongly recommend using kitchen scales, steelyards, measuring spoons and cups.
Rule 2. For good workpieces, we take good ingredients. We use salt that does not contain insoluble particles. Ordinary rock salt is often not of very high quality, the cans can open, the brine can become cloudy, and the cucumbers become soft and lose their crisp chic. We choose dry, white and no additives salt. Sea salt is not bad for such purposes. We try to take pure, filtered water, and replace the 9% table vinegar with apple or wine.
Rule 3. Mold is our enemy! Let's start with the fact that mold is the result of the vital activity of various microorganisms. And in order to prevent their appearance and reproduction, it is necessary to observe absolute purity. Wash vegetables and fruits clean with special brushes, sterilize jars at high temperatures.
As for sterilizing cans, there are many different ways:
- The most common method is steam sterilization: clean cans are placed upside down on a large pot of boiling water using a wire rack or a special device. Within 15 minutes, the steam processes the inside of the jar, after which it must be transferred to a clean, dry cloth without turning it over. In this case, metal lids are sterilized in boiling water as standard.
- The second way - the jars are immersed in a large container (bucket) completely and boiled. The whole difficulty is in pulling the can out of boiling water. Water from it must also be poured and placed on a towel with the neck down.
- The third method, in our opinion, is the simplest (by the way, all employees of our online store use this option). The oven helps us all! Put clean jars upside down on a baking sheet and put them in an unheated oven. Gradually, the temperature rises and the jars warm up. As soon as the remaining droplets on the walls are dry and the cans become crystal clear, you can take out! The main thing is that we do it in the same way gradually - from a sharp drop, the bank can burst. We open the door of the oven, wait a little, open it harder, wait a little more .. Now we put the baking sheet with the jars on the table.
They say that you can sterilize dishes with a microwave and a double boiler. In the microwave: jars with 2 tbsp. put spoons of water in a microwave oven for 2-3 minutes, and with a double boiler - as in the first option. Perhaps such modern options facilitate the canning process. We haven't tried it yet. But we promise to test all methods and share the results with you.
Adding oak, cherry and currant leaves to marinades also helps to extend the shelf life of the cut.
Also, this trick is often used: a little mustard powder and a drop of vegetable oil are added to a finished jar of pickled vegetables to form a film. A natural preservative fights bacteria and prevents mold growth.
Rule 4. Swirl. When screwing, use dense yellow tin lids - a special coating on them protects the workpiece from contact with metal. It is more convenient to use screw caps and special threaded cans. Make sure no more than 1.5 cm between the lid and the contents to avoid oxidation. Rolled up cans should not be placed in a draft, they can crack.
Rule 5. Prepare in advance. In order not to forget anything, use the preliminary inventory list:
- Large containers for sterilizing cans (if you choose the steam sterilization method)
- A saucepan or colander, utensils for processing food
- Sharpened knives, spoons, forks
- Peelers, blenders, shredders, garlic presses, graters (depending on the type of canned food)
- Volumetric dishes, kitchen scales
- Glass jars, metal (or polyethylene) lids, a machine for rolling jars or a capping key
- Do not forget about clean towels, napkins, potholders, prepare stickers for marking ready-made canned food.
Storage tips:
- The ideal option is to store the blanks in the cellar - they stand quietly for two years. But now not everyone has a cellar, so we use a storage room. In short, a cool, dark, dry place will do. The balcony will not work if it is not insulated - in winter, conservation can freeze. Jam, compotes and other preparations from berries and fruits with seeds should not be kept for more than a year, since the hydrocyanic acid released during long storage has a dangerous effect on the central nervous system.
With these little tricks, the process of preparing your favorite snacks, jams and pickles for the winter will be easier and more enjoyable!
Rich harvest and successful canning!
